swim beyond the imagery

Grossing out the home folk

There always seems to be something stirring in the springtime.

High schoolers are prom and graduation bound, and all too predictably, virtually every year there is an lgbt story associated with one or both of these annual rituals.

Usually we have stories of taking a same sex date to the prom, or a student having the audacity to cast off the gender society has assigned to them. This time around, the catalyst is in the photos - yearbook photos.

It seems students in Clovis NM decided to take pics of various couples for inclusion in their yearbook. Some parents in the community, out to demonstrate that parents can indeed be more immature than students, called the photographs of same sex couples 'disgusting.'

You can see a couple of the pictures by following links within that article.

I'm tired of ignorant ass holes making a big deal about something so damn innocent - and actually life affirming. Thank goodness younger folk grasp what these folk seem incapable of - that love between consenting adults is a desirable, not undesirable thing. It is hate we need to cast away.

I'm not sure what I'd say to that parent. I'd hope if such a moment came that anger would not manifest, that reason would trump shouting down. Time is on our side. It may not move as fast as we like, but the future looks promising.

I'm disappointed

Since casting my vote for Hillary 13 days ago, both she and Bill have decided to engage in petty sniping with Barack.

Quite frankly, I am disappointed. We can and should expect more from both of them.

While I understand her point vis a vis having an able legislator, putting forth that point by downplaying the efforts of Martin Luther King was just plain folly.

Setting aside for the moment the well documented fact that Lyndon Baines Johnson was an ass hole, I'll give credit where due by acknowledging the guy knew how to inact legislation - in other words, get it through Congress.  Johnson was also sufficiently shrewd as to understand he could not accomplish a thing simply by way of his ability to manipulate legislators. More was needed - popular support. How to get it?

First, play on the reservoir of stunned sadness inherent in the US at that time over the loss of John F Kennedy. And secondly, encourage Martin Luther King to continue applying pressure, creating pressure points that triggered countermeasures that in turn would get people pissed off and engaged.

Today in his regular On Point programme, Tom Ashbrook examines Dr King and President Johnson. Tom and his guests examine this relationship, and tapes of telephone conversations are aired. The tapes are very enlightening.

In the conversations, we hear Johnson appealing to Martin to keep up the pressure. He well knows he can do nothing legislatively unless a sufficient critical mass of people support such efforts. And Johnson is already well aware of his legacy, he is a politician, after all. Martin is notably quiet in the conversations I heard.

In other words, legislative effort is needed, but it pales in comparison to the popular effort to rally people to the cause. LBJ was asking Martin Luther King to do all the heavy lifting, that he might ride that effort into a legislative legacy.

Come on, Hillary - and Bill. Do not place your self importance above the greater efforts of the mobilised populace.

And politician pledges to secular supremacy?

In a second story of note today, Mitt Romney is about to pledge to the universe he is focused on America, and not his LDS church. I'm hardly a Romney fan; polar opposite, actually. Yet I just don't get this notion of his religion being important.

NPR triggered this with yet another story, Romney Hopes to Sway Evangelicals with Speech.

In the story, we once again visit calls for Romney to declare his allegiance. One person interviewed suggests that JFK had to do this, and so too must Mitt.

Excuse me? Did George Bush I or II declare their primary allegiance, and to uphold separation of church and state? Clinton? Why is it some Christians demand this of others? It seems to me the biggest challenge to church and state in this nation usually stems from the Christian community.

Geesh.

Mitt, mould, and my life

Mitt Romney suggests dead heterosexual parents are better than gay ones. In Iowa the other day, Mitt had this to say:

"And even where one member of the partnership may pass away, the memory and the characteristics of that gender, of that partner influence the development of a child.

For the article, see Pink News UK.

What can I say about this? Of course memories of a lost parent stay with a child, and carry lasting influence in their life. This is as true of a gay parent as a hetero parent, and it is a sorry attempt to say one is better than the other. What is it, MItt? We have no souls, so our memories are washed away?

On a non-political level, we have a story of a home owner finding a secret, mould-filled room in their home. In the room was a note: "you found it!" The previous home owner dumped the place because of the mould. You can read the story here SC Couple finds secret mouldy room. Fannie Mae has bought the place, but lawsuits will be flying in every direction. Note to those who sold the home: expect a note saying: "we found you."

Something a bit more personal, today marks 4 years ago an exclamation point was visibly attached to the downward spiral and collapse of my life in the early 21st century. My business was officially closed, something that probably should have happened long before, but who was to see? I was pretty good at shutting out the world to what was happening within me, in totality. I shared some of it, but the PTSD generating stuff... no way.

What I've come to decide was that life comes from death, and that day marked the creation of conditions that would give me the choice to embrace rebirth or just roll over into oblivion. I'm grateful for that opportunity, and whilst I know there is much left for me to do, hope I'm on a good pathway today.

Looking up

Since we are still in the throes of Congressional action on an ENDA bill, every day or two some new development unfolds that ends up annoying the heck out of me. Things are not looking up, but it leaves us looking up - up at the receding lights of the turncoat HRC as it cuts out trannies and goes for what it wanted all along... protection for the L, the G, and the B. What other letter is there again?

HRC is running around with halos over their collective head, telling one and all they support trans-inclusion in ENDA. At the same time, they say so sorry, votes aren't there, but they are if we leave the T out, so we'll come back for ya. Yeah, and in the 19th century, these are the folk who would have negotiated and then ignored treaties with Native Americans. We know what's best for you...

Yeah, there are sharks out here, and you've decided to save yourselves. I get it.

And there is Barney Frank. If I were Keith Olbermann, right now I'd give Barney the 'worst person in the world' nightly honour, given his strong effort to leave us out. What is it with some gay guys, anyway? Here's what I think... they do not wish to be identified with drag queens, it hits too close to home, eh? They don't wish to be perceived that way, so they think we should be dumped in the ocean so they can feel good about themselves. And in the gay community, it's gay guys who have the strongest net worth, as male entitlement is still quite at their service.

Here's the thing... where do these guys get off in saying where I fit in all of this? I'll be damned if they have say on my identification and immersion in the dyke community.

There is another election coming, Barney, and there are other things you would like to legislate into being or away. Right now I'd not support you in anything. Please don't try and pretend you are some friend to this community when you are bringing tired old prejudices along for the ride, leading HRC by the nose.

ENDA of shame

Sold out. Hung out to dry. Cut loose. Thrown in the volcano. Stepped upon to reach something above. 

All of these statements, and more, apply to the HRC decision to cut out transfolk from ENDA. I've fired off a couple of letters to my rep, fired one off just now to Speaker Pelosi, and urge anyone who might happen to read this to write Congress in support of a whole ENDA bill, and not the one tearing the 'T' away from the LGB.

I've lived a lifetime of inner angst. Had my life ripped apart, but I'm also fortunate to work for an employer that values my work and protects my rights. Too many of us have no protection, and ENDA will bring us that long needed protection.

Unfortunately, HRC, in conjunction with Barney Frank, he who sucked momentum out of the lgbt spring of 2004 by saying publicly the marriages were an error, have teamed to cast out trannies from ENDA protection. Yesterday, Donna Rose, member of the Board of Directors for HRC, resigned in protest. The first and only trannie on the board, Donna could not countenance throwing us under the ENDA bus. You can find more of her writings here.

Since we are a minority within a minority, gaining rights outside the framework of the lgbt community will be exceedingly difficult. Many people see us as just plain warped, weird, or worse.

I'd appreciate taking time to contact Speaker Pelosi in support of an intact ENDA.

The no talk talk that showed talking talks

We've all heard the clip. Ahmadinejad saying with (um... is there a more apt expression than a straight face?) "there are no gays in Iran?

Interesting the 'no gays' comment was the top story that rolled out of yesterday, given many wished for the guy to have an opportunity to put his foot in his mouth.

My take was to let him speak. Listen. Question. Give him a chance to sink or swim, clarify and or refute. Instead, he went for broke, taking a hostile crowd and turned them into ticketed customers for a Comedy Central live taping.

I can only imagine how the mood changed when he denied the existence of any gay folk. Some would think of those slaughtered, persecuted, or in hiding for being gay. Others would see all of his comments as spewing from an incompetent boob who somehow got himself elected. It's not like that can't happen here.

We have a president who will admit I exist, after all, my wages are indirectly, but 100% paid from one of the agencies he oversees. And after all, he used lgbt rights as a springboard to 4 additional years of mismanagement. He can see us, he can hear us... but when it comes to legal rights, that is where he finds common ground with the good old president of Iran. For George Bush, he sees no rights for us. Not to have equal standing in the military, nor equal standing when applying for marriage licenses.

Iran is a nation which is rather complex, and I do not pretend to carry any ability to break down that complexity. But what I do understand is there is varied opinion, even amongst the leadership. One story I read recently speculates that the Ayatollah Khamenei despises Ahmadinejad, and was clandestinely behind the recent release of Zero Degree Turn, an Iranian production about, and sympathetic to, the Holocaust. By doing so, so the theory goes, he backhandedly swipes at Ahmadinejad's nasty comments questioning the Holocaust.

Anyway, this should be a lesson to us all. Let people speak. If they are truly despicable, chances are pretty good that will be quickly self evident. There comments will be full of holes, make no sense, or be obvious lies. And when people can openly question and challenge someone with that particular repertoire, the speaker will be the worse for embracing the opportunity to demonstrate to the world just how much of a fool they really are.

Fracture

So the title misrepresents the issue; you cannot fracture something that has never been whole to begin with.

It would be nice to think that feminists and lgbt folk were in complete solidarity, standing with one another to overcome the lingering prejudice that lurks basically throughout the world. It would also be fantasy.

We see stay at home moms and working women war over what each brings forth to move equal rights forward, a fight that's been waging for what seems like forever. In the lgbt community, all too often the letters are like putting two like magnetic poles together... they repel.

I've not played on many sites that might have given me a clearer picture of the divisions that exist, and yeah... I've known they were there, but that was somewhere else, not where I play, namely technodyke,  and on occasion, iVillage.

It was these communities, and specific people I met on them that helped me get through seeing my issues and finding a way through them.

So it is I am dismayed to see a lesbian board struggling with whether transmen who are attracted to men should post there. I've heard some question whether transwomen should be allowed to be part of the board.

It's just my opinion, nothing more, but how will we ever make progress if sub-communities like Gingerbeer

Both feminism and being part of the lesbian community are important to me. I've long been a feminist, but walking into the lesbian community gave me the first real sense of belonging I've ever felt in my life. It's really hard to describe to others how it feels to be adrift for a lifetime, and then sense 'this is it!"

It's not up to me, they can congregate, associate, exclude, accept, as they wish... but I'd sure like to see a bit more effort put into accomplishing what we expect hetero people to accomplish vis a vis the lot of us.
still have issues with gathering together? How can we convince greater society that we should be fully integrated and accepted? Yeah, I can join there, but do I wish to be involved knowing a significant number have this exclusionary view? Nah.

I am not gay

If ever there was a case of 'doth protest a bit too much,' it was this week's pathetic aftermath of the revelation of Senator Craig's restroom footsie two step.

Why a US Senator would feel the need to troll airport restrooms, tapping toes under stalls to find someone to go down with, is beyond me. But then this guy is proclaiming to the universe he isn't gay.

I'm 52 years old, and nary once has anyone even accidentally touched my toes whilst parked inside a stall. I suppose if the settee was like... 6'8" tall, he might stretch out for a leisurely recline whilst relieving, (excuse me, my attention was momentarily diverted by some dumb Segal movie, which is almost as bad as seeking out airport restroom sex) but other than such a premise, it's rather hard to believe the tap toe probing and prodding was by sheer fate. (Movie off.)

What scares me is the sheer stupidity of the Senator. Here this guy is 1 in a hundred (assuredly not a measure of quality) of a legislative body that represents 1/2 of the legislative branch, so he has clout. It's reasonable to expect he will make well-rendered decisions on bills that come before the Senate. Well, he chose to get his dick licked in a restroom (ever been in a men's room? Yuch!) so it is reasonable to assume he might not be the guy to represent a state, but go figure.

There are all manner of issues, some publicly relevant, some relevant to his family. I'd imagine his spouse and kidlet(s?) are not enamoured with his blowing it in public.

Yanno, when I was closeted, coming out seem so damn daunting, nigh impossible. How could one do this? After parking on the other side, after losing my partner, kids, house, business, falling to pieces, etc I'd still say it's so much easier to come out than tip toe around covered by a shrub, hoping no one notices the moving tree in the restroom.

So he runs around screaming his heteroness as the world chuckles. I made myself a fool at one point in my own crossing, and this guy made himself a fool in his denial. I had a reason for crashing. Mr. Craig owes his to his adamant proclamation of, and adherence to, hypocrisy.

"Not a long term struggle"

Gee... thank you, Hillary. Yeah. I was born yesterday. It was 12 hours ago my dad said I was sick. A few hours ago, my ex threw me out. A couple of hours ago I lost my business in the ugliest, most self destructive of ways - keyed by the circumstances surrounding crossing a divide society says one does not cross.

I guess we all signed on to being gay and it's a new phenomenon.